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"School Reunion" is the third episode in the second series of the British
science fiction television Science fiction first appeared in television programming in the late 1930s, during what is called the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Special effects and other production techniques allow creators to present a living visual image of an imaginary ...
series ''
Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...
''. It first aired on
BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...
on 29 April 2006. The episode's narrative takes place in England some time after the events of the 2005 episode "
The Christmas Invasion "The Christmas Invasion" is a 60-minute special episode of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast on BBC One on 25 December 2005. This episode features the first full-episode appearance of David Te ...
", and involves the
Tenth Doctor The Tenth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the main protagonist of the BBC science fiction television franchise ''Doctor Who''. He is played by David Tennant in three series as well as nine specials. As with previous incarnations of the ...
(
David Tennant David John Tennant (''né'' McDonald; born 18 April 1971) is a Scottish actor. He rose to fame for his role as the tenth incarnation of the Doctor (2005–2010 and 2013) in the BBC science-fiction TV show '' Doctor Who'', reprising the rol ...
) reuniting with his former travelling companion
Sarah Jane Smith Sarah Jane Smith is a fictional character played by Elisabeth Sladen in the long-running BBC Television science fiction on television, science fiction series ''Doctor Who'' and two of Doctor Who spin-offs, its spin-offs. Sarah Jane is a dogged in ...
(
Elisabeth Sladen Elisabeth Clara Heath-Sladen (1 February 1946 – 19 April 2011) was an English actress. She became best known as Sarah Jane Smith in the British television series ''Doctor Who'', appearing as a regular cast member from 1973 to 1976, alongside ...
), whom the
Fourth Doctor The Fourth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Tom Baker. Within the series' narrative, the Doctor is a centuries-old alien Time Lord from the ...
left behind in the 1976 serial ''
The Hand of Fear ''The Hand of Fear'' is the second serial of the 14th season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 2 to 23 October 1976. The serial was the last regular appe ...
''. In the episode, the alien race the Krillitanes, disguising themselves as school faculty, use the minds of children to solve a
theory of everything A theory of everything (TOE or TOE/ToE), final theory, ultimate theory, unified field theory or master theory is a hypothetical, singular, all-encompassing, coherent theoretical framework of physics that fully explains and links together all asp ...
that would allow them to control time and space. The use of the Doctor's previous companions, in particular Sarah Jane and K9 (
John Leeson John Francis Christopher Ducker (born 16 March 1943), known professionally as John Leeson, is an English actor, voice artist and freelance wine educator. He is known for portraying Bungle in ''Rainbow'' and voicing K9 in ''Doctor Who'' and s ...
), was first proposed in 2003 to the BBC. After the episode was produced, Elisabeth Sladen was approached by the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
to star in a spin-off, ''
The Sarah Jane Adventures ''The Sarah Jane Adventures'' is a British science fiction television programme that was produced by BBC Cymru Wales for CBBC, created by Russell T Davies, and starring Elisabeth Sladen. The programme is a spin-off of the long-running BBC sc ...
'', which also included K9 in several stories. The episode was positively reviewed, with an
Appreciation Index The Audience Appreciation Index (AI) is an indicator measured from 0 to 100 of the public's appreciation for a television or radio programme, or broadcast service, in the United Kingdom. Until 2002, the AI of a programme was calculated by the B ...
of 85 ("Excellent").


Plot

Mr Finch, the headmaster of Deffry Vale School, has been changing the school to improve the students' performance; his changes include free lunches with special
chips ''CHiPs'' is an American crime drama television series created by Rick Rosner and originally aired on NBC from September 15, 1977, to May 1, 1983. It follows the lives of two motorcycle officers of the California Highway Patrol (CHP). The serie ...
. The
Tenth Doctor The Tenth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the main protagonist of the BBC science fiction television franchise ''Doctor Who''. He is played by David Tennant in three series as well as nine specials. As with previous incarnations of the ...
is undercover as a science teacher in the school, and
Rose A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...
is working undercover in the school's cafeteria. The Doctor discovers the oil in the chips has caused the students' increase in performance. Rose observes that the chip oil has an adverse effect on the other kitchen staff, who must use hazmat suits to handle it. Mr Finch's successes arouse the attention of investigative journalist
Sarah Jane Smith Sarah Jane Smith is a fictional character played by Elisabeth Sladen in the long-running BBC Television science fiction on television, science fiction series ''Doctor Who'' and two of Doctor Who spin-offs, its spin-offs. Sarah Jane is a dogged in ...
, a former companion of the Doctor. She meets the Doctor, Rose, and
Mickey Mickey is a given name and nickname, almost always masculine and often a short form (hypocorism) of Michael (given name), Michael, and occasionally a surname. Notable people and characters with the name include: People Given name or nickname Men ...
, with an immediate rivalry sparking between the two women. Sarah Jane shows them the robot dog K9 in the boot of her car. K9 identifies the chip oil as Krillitane oil. Rose, previously unaware that the Doctor even had past companions, confronts him on why he leaves his old companions behind and never mentions them. The following day, the group returns to the school to investigate further. The Doctor confronts Mr Finch, who confirms that he and other staff members are Krillitanes—a composite species that takes desirable attributes of the species they conquer. He attempts to subvert the Doctor, without success. Mickey and K9 remain in Sarah Jane's car for surveillance. With the Doctor's help, Sarah Jane and Rose discover that the school computers—bolstered by the students' enhanced intelligence—are part of a Krillitane effort to solve the "Skasis Paradigm", a
theory of everything A theory of everything (TOE or TOE/ToE), final theory, ultimate theory, unified field theory or master theory is a hypothetical, singular, all-encompassing, coherent theoretical framework of physics that fully explains and links together all asp ...
. Mr Finch propositions the Doctor a second time, but the Doctor again refuses, and they run from Mr Finch. After Kenny (a student who had not eaten the chips) alerts Mickey to the students' plight, Mickey crashes Sarah Jane's car through the school's doors and unplugs the computers, allowing the children to flee. The Doctor leads the Krillitanes to the kitchen. Upon their arrival, K9 detonates the chip oil container, saturating the Krillitanes and blowing them up along with K9. Sarah Jane declines a second chance of travelling in the
TARDIS The TARDIS (; acronym for "Time And Relative Dimension In Space") is a fictional hybrid of the time machine and spacecraft that appears in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' and its various spin-offs. Its exterior ap ...
, having finally decided to move on with her life. Mickey decides to join the Doctor. Sarah Jane, now getting on better than at their first meeting, asks Rose to stay with the Doctor, and is given a new K9 as a parting gift.


Production

The concept of Sarah Jane and K9 returning to ''Doctor Who'' was an idea of
Russell T Davies Stephen Russell Davies (born 27 April 1963), better known as Russell T Davies, is a Welsh screenwriter and television producer whose works include '' Queer as Folk'', '' The Second Coming'', ''Casanova'', the 2005 revival of the BBC One scie ...
from pitching the show in 2003. Such a use would show what would happen after a companion left the Doctor, without dwelling too much on the classic series. It was Davies' full intention for Sarah Jane to be used for this, and while Sladen originally declined a request, thinking her role would not be important, she changed her mind when she realised she would be the focal point of the adventure. After production of the episode was finished, Sladen was approached about a full spin-off series, ''
The Sarah Jane Adventures ''The Sarah Jane Adventures'' is a British science fiction television programme that was produced by BBC Cymru Wales for CBBC, created by Russell T Davies, and starring Elisabeth Sladen. The programme is a spin-off of the long-running BBC sc ...
'', which was formally announced on 14 September 2006. The episode went through several changes in production: working titles included "Old Friends" and "Black Ops", the latter being set in an army base. Davies requested that Whithouse set it in a school instead, mainly for simplicity, but also for a desire for the Doctor to masquerade as a school teacher. Additionally, the Krillitanes were to be named "Krillians" until the BBC found the name was trademarked, and Finch's forename was originally Hector, until the BBC found a real teacher by the same name, and renamed him Lucas. A scene that was cut was of Milo's brain being "shorted out" by the Doctor's rapid-fire questions causing him to collapse at the beginning of the episode, which was later alluded to in the episode. The episode, originally in the second production block, was produced in the first block along with "
The Christmas Invasion "The Christmas Invasion" is a 60-minute special episode of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast on BBC One on 25 December 2005. This episode features the first full-episode appearance of David Te ...
" and " New Earth". Two high schools in Wales were used for filming:
Fitzalan High School Fitzalan High School () is an 11–18 mixed, English-medium community secondary school and sixth form in Leckwith, Cardiff, Wales. History Fitzalan High School has links to Cardiff's first municipal secondary school at Howard Gardens, Adams ...
in
Leckwith Leckwith ( cy, Lecwydd) is a small village in the Vale of Glamorgan, just west of Cardiff. Historically, the parish of Leckwith also included land on the east side of the river Ely that is now part of Cardiff itself. This area is also commonly kn ...
was used on 23 August and 24 August 2005, for filming the first conversation between the Doctor and Finch, and for the playground, kitchen, and cafeteria scenes, and
Duffryn High School The John Frost School, formerly known as Duffryn High School ( cy, Ysgol Uwchradd Dyffryn), is a comprehensive school on the south-western outskirts of Newport, Wales, Newport, south Wales. It is in the suburb of Duffryn and opened in 1959. The J ...
in Newport, which was used between 25 August and 6 September for the remainder of the episode, with filming delayed due to
asbestos Asbestos () is a naturally occurring fibrous silicate mineral. There are six types, all of which are composed of long and thin fibrous crystals, each fibre being composed of many microscopic "fibrils" that can be released into the atmosphere b ...
being discovered in Duffryn High School's structure. The scenes in the schools utilised dozens of children as extras. Pick-up shots were later completed on 7 September and 8 September, with filming of the cafe scene delayed due to drunk and disorderly conduct from members of the public.


Broadcast and reception

The episode was watched by 8.3 million viewers, the twelfth most-watched programme of the week, with an
Appreciation Index The Audience Appreciation Index (AI) is an indicator measured from 0 to 100 of the public's appreciation for a television or radio programme, or broadcast service, in the United Kingdom. Until 2002, the AI of a programme was calculated by the B ...
score of 85%. Jacob Clifton of
Television Without Pity Television Without Pity (often abbreviated TWoP) was a website that provided detailed recaps of select television dramas, situation comedies and reality TV shows along with discussion forums. These recaps were written with sarcastic criticism an ...
gave the episode an A+ rating, and jokingly stated that he "didn't know why the Doctor was fucking around uring the Physics lesson he taught Physics at Coal Hill School way back in '63". Ahsan Haque of
IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
gave the episode an 8.7 out of 10 ("Great") and commented that the episode had "fantastic character moments" and "brilliant CGI effects", and that "if you're willing to accept the ''
Scooby-Doo ''Scooby-Doo'' is an American animation, animated media franchise based on an animated television series launched in 1969 and continued through several derivative List of Scooby-Doo media, media. Writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears created the orig ...
'' storyline, then the strong nostalgic vibes present in this episode should be enough to carry this episode into a must-see category", and K9 and Sarah Jane alone made the episode worth watching for fans of the classic series. The episode was subsequently nominated for the 2007
Hugo Award The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention and chosen by its members. The Hugo is widely considered the premier a ...
for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form, an award that was won by the following episode "
The Girl in the Fireplace "The Girl in the Fireplace" is the fourth episode of the second series of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 6 May 2006. Written by Steven Moffat and directed by Euros Lyn, the epi ...
".


References


External links


TARDISODE 3Episode trailerEpisode commentary by Phil Collinson, Helen Raynor and Eugene Washington
(MP3)
"School Reunion" episode homepage
*
"Doctor Who is reunited with K9"BBC Somerset: Interview with Anthony HeadBBC Norfolk: Interview with Elisabeth Sladen
* {{Good article Tenth Doctor episodes 2006 British television episodes Fiction set in 2007 Doctor Who stories set on Earth Television episodes written by Toby Whithouse Television episodes set in schools